Erik Bugge
@erik.eurosky.social
CEO and founder of privacy adtech company Kobler (kobler.no/en).
Building adtech and policy for (in all senses) sustainable digital advertising.
Building adtech and policy for (in all senses) sustainable digital advertising.
Pinned
Erik Bugge
@erik.eurosky.social
· Nov 12
As we write in The Guardian this morning, the Commission’s plan to gut EU digital rules will hurt Europe’s startups and give U.S. tech an unassailable advantage, confirming Europe as a digital vassal.
Piece by George Riekeles and I.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Piece by George Riekeles and I.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The EU has let US tech giants run riot. Diluting our data law will only entrench their power | Johnny Ryan and Georg Riekeles
The GDPR is Europe’s defence against digital oligarchy and child harm. Deregulation plans are misguided, say Johnny Ryan and Georg Riekeles
www.theguardian.com
I don't think the Commission understands how much this attack on the GDPR will hurt innovation done by European companies, and instead cement Google's and Meta's position as the inescapable middle-men and turn our SMEs into their cash-cows. WAKE UP!
Reposted by Erik Bugge
@ec.europa.eu selling European citizens and values out to Big Tech.
❗83% meetings top Commission officials with industry representatives.
❗47 meetings individual companies,28 with business lobby groups.
❗Less than 14% meetings with NGOs and trade unions.
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
❗83% meetings top Commission officials with industry representatives.
❗47 meetings individual companies,28 with business lobby groups.
❗Less than 14% meetings with NGOs and trade unions.
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
US tech giants pressuring EU to keep us addicted to social media
"They can leverage Trump's America First policies, framing EU digital laws as foreign extortion, censorship or discrimination."
www.brusselstimes.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:59 AM
@ec.europa.eu selling European citizens and values out to Big Tech.
❗83% meetings top Commission officials with industry representatives.
❗47 meetings individual companies,28 with business lobby groups.
❗Less than 14% meetings with NGOs and trade unions.
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
❗83% meetings top Commission officials with industry representatives.
❗47 meetings individual companies,28 with business lobby groups.
❗Less than 14% meetings with NGOs and trade unions.
www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/1...
Reposted by Erik Bugge
New @corporateeurope.org report on #BigTech lobbying has found EU Commission officials met lobbyists 100+ times on the Digital Fairness Act since Dec 2024. 83% of meetings were w/ companies + business lobby groups, while less than 14% were with NGOs + trade unions corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/a...
Addicted to the algorithm: how Big Tech lobbies to keep us hooked on social media | Corporate Europe Observatory
As the EU prepares the Digital Fairness Act to tackle the addictive nature of social media design, big tech aggressively protects its business models. With Trumpists and far-right allies likely to joi...
corporateeurope.org
February 5, 2026 at 9:52 AM
New @corporateeurope.org report on #BigTech lobbying has found EU Commission officials met lobbyists 100+ times on the Digital Fairness Act since Dec 2024. 83% of meetings were w/ companies + business lobby groups, while less than 14% were with NGOs + trade unions corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/a...
Reposted by Erik Bugge
"researchers argue Big Tech is spreading its message through articles on Euronews by organisation EU Tech Loop
operated by Consumer Choice Center Europe, an organisation that, according to EU’s transparency register, receives all of its funding from Meta and Google"
euobserver.com/201452/revea...
operated by Consumer Choice Center Europe, an organisation that, according to EU’s transparency register, receives all of its funding from Meta and Google"
euobserver.com/201452/revea...
Revealed: How Big Tech is lobbying on forthcoming EU Digital Fairness Act
New research by the Brussels NGO Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) details an intense lobbying campaign by Big Tech to weaken the upcoming EU Digital Fairness Act — a proposal that aims to protect co...
euobserver.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:54 AM
"researchers argue Big Tech is spreading its message through articles on Euronews by organisation EU Tech Loop
operated by Consumer Choice Center Europe, an organisation that, according to EU’s transparency register, receives all of its funding from Meta and Google"
euobserver.com/201452/revea...
operated by Consumer Choice Center Europe, an organisation that, according to EU’s transparency register, receives all of its funding from Meta and Google"
euobserver.com/201452/revea...
Reposted by Erik Bugge
"EU Tech Loop is operated by the Consumer Choice Center Europe, an organisation that, according to the EU’s transparency register, receives all of its funding from Meta and Google"
February 5, 2026 at 5:34 AM
"EU Tech Loop is operated by the Consumer Choice Center Europe, an organisation that, according to the EU’s transparency register, receives all of its funding from Meta and Google"
Huge interest in the trial against the son of the Norwegian crown princess. Almost 300 articles published in January alone - that are read a *lot* for a country of 5 mill people.
February 4, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Huge interest in the trial against the son of the Norwegian crown princess. Almost 300 articles published in January alone - that are read a *lot* for a country of 5 mill people.
Reposted by Erik Bugge
The European Commission is brokering a deal to exchange information about travelers, including fingerprints and law enforcement records, so the U.S. can determine if they “pose a risk to public security or public order,” www.politico.eu/article/eu-m...
EU plan to share data with US border force sparks surveillance fears
Washington is demanding access to sensitive data as ICE heightens fears in Europe.
www.politico.eu
February 4, 2026 at 9:50 AM
The European Commission is brokering a deal to exchange information about travelers, including fingerprints and law enforcement records, so the U.S. can determine if they “pose a risk to public security or public order,” www.politico.eu/article/eu-m...
Reposted by Erik Bugge
February 3, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Erik Bugge
"Google breached its own policies that barred use of artificial intelligence for weapons or surveillance in 2024 by helping an Israeli military contractor analyze drone video footage, a former Google employee alleged in a confidential federal whistleblower complaint reviewed by The Washington Post."
Google helped Israeli military contractor with AI, whistleblower alleges
A whistleblower complaint filed with the SEC claims that Google breached its own ethics rules to help an Israeli contractor apply AI to drone surveillance video.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 1, 2026 at 5:17 PM
"Google breached its own policies that barred use of artificial intelligence for weapons or surveillance in 2024 by helping an Israeli military contractor analyze drone video footage, a former Google employee alleged in a confidential federal whistleblower complaint reviewed by The Washington Post."
Reposted by Erik Bugge
If anyone doubts how prescient and important the German Constitutional Court‘s 1983 decision on self-determination regarding information was - the US offers a powerful example of how things can go wrong
A manual for ICE's immigrant-targeting computer system, Palantir ELITE, was leaked today.
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
February 1, 2026 at 7:51 AM
If anyone doubts how prescient and important the German Constitutional Court‘s 1983 decision on self-determination regarding information was - the US offers a powerful example of how things can go wrong
Reposted by Erik Bugge
The EU "Leaders' Retreat" on 12/2 will address #deregulation demands proposed by Italian Prime Minister Meloni and German Chancellor Merz
Virtually all of these proposals are longstanding demands of industry #lobbyists, promoted by BusinessEurope and the European Round Table for Industry (ERT)... 😤
Virtually all of these proposals are longstanding demands of industry #lobbyists, promoted by BusinessEurope and the European Round Table for Industry (ERT)... 😤
Red Alert: mid-February EU summit aims to accelerate EU deregulation 🚨
EU "Leaders' Retreat" on 12 February, in rural Belgium, will discuss radical proposals to accelerate the #deregulation of EU & national level legislation ⚠️
Read more at #DeregulationWatch
➡️ corporateeurope.org/en/deregulat...
EU "Leaders' Retreat" on 12 February, in rural Belgium, will discuss radical proposals to accelerate the #deregulation of EU & national level legislation ⚠️
Read more at #DeregulationWatch
➡️ corporateeurope.org/en/deregulat...
Deregulation Watch | Corporate Europe Observatory
Check out our new posts on Deregulation Watch which helps civil society monitor new developments in the deregulation agenda, assess what’s at stake, and organise in defence of strong social, environme...
corporateeurope.org
January 29, 2026 at 1:33 PM
The EU "Leaders' Retreat" on 12/2 will address #deregulation demands proposed by Italian Prime Minister Meloni and German Chancellor Merz
Virtually all of these proposals are longstanding demands of industry #lobbyists, promoted by BusinessEurope and the European Round Table for Industry (ERT)... 😤
Virtually all of these proposals are longstanding demands of industry #lobbyists, promoted by BusinessEurope and the European Round Table for Industry (ERT)... 😤
Reposted by Erik Bugge
🎉 Happy Data Protection Day! We took today as an opportunity to debunk five common misconceptions about data protection and the GDPR.
Read all about it here:
noyb.eu/en/data-prot...
Read all about it here:
noyb.eu/en/data-prot...
Data Protection Day: 5 misconceptions about data protection, debunked
In honour of this year’s Data Protection Day, noyb is clearing up 5 of the most common misconceptions.
noyb.eu
January 28, 2026 at 8:19 AM
🎉 Happy Data Protection Day! We took today as an opportunity to debunk five common misconceptions about data protection and the GDPR.
Read all about it here:
noyb.eu/en/data-prot...
Read all about it here:
noyb.eu/en/data-prot...
Let's get our Digital Dignity back! @eurosky.social
January 29, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Let's get our Digital Dignity back! @eurosky.social
I think Apple should (re)introduce the Web Eraser in Safari. That seems to be the only way to get rid of all those f***ing annoying AI tools that pollute every Google web application these days. Saying no for the hundred time is just not enough it seems.
What happened to Web Eraser - Apple's content-blocker for Safari 18
One of Apple's upgrades for Safari — the Web Eraser content blocker — never became available to the public, even though it was complete and fully functional. Here's what happened along the way, what i...
appleinsider.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:59 PM
I think Apple should (re)introduce the Web Eraser in Safari. That seems to be the only way to get rid of all those f***ing annoying AI tools that pollute every Google web application these days. Saying no for the hundred time is just not enough it seems.
Norway's largest bank DNB newsjacking through the Kobler ad platform in a matter of minutes 😂😂🤣 ("Jeg slutter" = "I quit")
January 27, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Norway's largest bank DNB newsjacking through the Kobler ad platform in a matter of minutes 😂😂🤣 ("Jeg slutter" = "I quit")
Reposted by Erik Bugge
It’s worth noting that even if you don’t explicitly share this information, it can often be inferred from things like your likes, friends/followers, etc.
This has been shown for decades now by researchers; companies are clearly doing this internally for ad targeting.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
This has been shown for decades now by researchers; companies are clearly doing this internally for ad targeting.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
January 26, 2026 at 2:33 PM
It’s worth noting that even if you don’t explicitly share this information, it can often be inferred from things like your likes, friends/followers, etc.
This has been shown for decades now by researchers; companies are clearly doing this internally for ad targeting.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
This has been shown for decades now by researchers; companies are clearly doing this internally for ad targeting.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Erik Bugge
A spark of action from the European Commission on social media recommender algorithms at long last ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Commission investigates Grok and X\'s recommender systems under the Digital Services Act
The European Commission has launched a new formal investigation against X under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
ec.europa.eu
January 26, 2026 at 11:16 AM
A spark of action from the European Commission on social media recommender algorithms at long last ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
@spacecowboy17.bsky.social My For you feed has the last week been overtaken by Norwegian posts. I only follow a few Norwegian accounts, so not sure why this is happening. It happened a few times before, but normally only for a day. Now it seems to be stuck.
January 26, 2026 at 11:58 AM
@spacecowboy17.bsky.social My For you feed has the last week been overtaken by Norwegian posts. I only follow a few Norwegian accounts, so not sure why this is happening. It happened a few times before, but normally only for a day. Now it seems to be stuck.
Reposted by Erik Bugge
So why can't this happen on Twitter or Threads? It's not a technology problem. It's a structure problem—the system isn't built for you to create, it's built for you to consume. Now that there's a viable alternative, the decline of traditional social is inevitable. Centralized networks always lose.
January 25, 2026 at 9:48 PM
So why can't this happen on Twitter or Threads? It's not a technology problem. It's a structure problem—the system isn't built for you to create, it's built for you to consume. Now that there's a viable alternative, the decline of traditional social is inevitable. Centralized networks always lose.
Reposted by Erik Bugge
Portlanders: Here are two ways to have a say in our city government's tech & data use:
-Write now or give verbal comments on Thurs Jan 29 on establishment of a City Data & Privacy Office
-By Feb 14, comment on the police Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) policy in review.
Links in my comment
-Write now or give verbal comments on Thurs Jan 29 on establishment of a City Data & Privacy Office
-By Feb 14, comment on the police Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) policy in review.
Links in my comment
January 25, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Portlanders: Here are two ways to have a say in our city government's tech & data use:
-Write now or give verbal comments on Thurs Jan 29 on establishment of a City Data & Privacy Office
-By Feb 14, comment on the police Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) policy in review.
Links in my comment
-Write now or give verbal comments on Thurs Jan 29 on establishment of a City Data & Privacy Office
-By Feb 14, comment on the police Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) policy in review.
Links in my comment
Reposted by Erik Bugge
The latest evidence that broadcasting people’s movements and intimate data in the Real-Time Bidding online advertising system is truly dangerous.
www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
ICE Asks Companies About ‘Ad Tech and Big Data’ Tools It Could Use in Investigations
A new federal filing from ICE demonstrates how commercial tools are increasingly being considered by the government for law enforcement and surveillance.
www.wired.com
January 25, 2026 at 8:27 AM
The latest evidence that broadcasting people’s movements and intimate data in the Real-Time Bidding online advertising system is truly dangerous.
www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
Reposted by Erik Bugge
The EU should urgently reconsider its law enforcement cooperation with DHS, FBI, DOJ. No more data sharing, no more access to EU data bases, no more extraditions until respect for the law and fundamental rights has been restored.
January 25, 2026 at 8:08 AM
The EU should urgently reconsider its law enforcement cooperation with DHS, FBI, DOJ. No more data sharing, no more access to EU data bases, no more extraditions until respect for the law and fundamental rights has been restored.
Reposted by Erik Bugge
Adtech is almost everything you do online. They’re using Adtech to track and investigate. Every little thing you do — shopping, browsing, checking health information, connecting on social, ChatGPT — is on Adtech.
New: Amid the escalating situation in Minneapolis, ICE posted in the Federal Register asking companies to provide info about “commercial Big Data and Ad Tech” products that would “directly support investigations activities”
www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
www.wired.com/story/ice-as...
ICE Asks Companies About ‘Ad Tech and Big Data’ Tools It Could Use in Investigations
A new federal filing from ICE demonstrates how commercial tools are increasingly being considered by the government for law enforcement and surveillance.
www.wired.com
January 25, 2026 at 3:01 AM
Adtech is almost everything you do online. They’re using Adtech to track and investigate. Every little thing you do — shopping, browsing, checking health information, connecting on social, ChatGPT — is on Adtech.
Reposted by Erik Bugge
“Newly filed internal documents show how [..] Google’s growing presence in schools — through Chromebooks as well as its learning platforms and YouTube — helped the company build a “Pipeline of future users.”” www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-...
Google’s work in schools aims to create a ‘pipeline of future users,’ internal documents say
A major lawsuit revealed details of Google's business motivations to get its products into schools. A Google spokesperson said the documents "mischaracterize our work."
www.nbcnews.com
January 24, 2026 at 7:53 AM
“Newly filed internal documents show how [..] Google’s growing presence in schools — through Chromebooks as well as its learning platforms and YouTube — helped the company build a “Pipeline of future users.”” www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-...
Reposted by Erik Bugge
Dette er altså selskapet som lager systemet ICE bruker til å arrestere toåringer.
Tolletaten, PST (antar jeg), Forsvaret: Har dere virkelig tenkt over hva dere gjør? Var det ikke dette vi mente da vi sa «aldri igjen»?
Tolletaten, PST (antar jeg), Forsvaret: Har dere virkelig tenkt over hva dere gjør? Var det ikke dette vi mente da vi sa «aldri igjen»?
Seneste: Palantir har holdt presentasjon for Forsvaret. De vil ikke si om hva, men kanskje Maven? Mareritt-teknologi
(+) Palantir har presentert krigsteknologi for Forsvaret
Hverken Forsvaret eller Palantir vil svare på om de er i forhandlinger om innkjøp av det amerikanske selskapets systemer.
www.morgenbladet.no
January 24, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Dette er altså selskapet som lager systemet ICE bruker til å arrestere toåringer.
Tolletaten, PST (antar jeg), Forsvaret: Har dere virkelig tenkt over hva dere gjør? Var det ikke dette vi mente da vi sa «aldri igjen»?
Tolletaten, PST (antar jeg), Forsvaret: Har dere virkelig tenkt over hva dere gjør? Var det ikke dette vi mente da vi sa «aldri igjen»?